How to choose the best forex broker to refer business to

1. Regulated company

When it comes to forex, one of the most important factors is regulation. Cross border money transfer companies need to ensure that they stay up to date with all the relevant regulations, requirements and laws, as well as ensure they are fully licensed and registered with the correct regulatory institutions. In the UK, all forex businesses should be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as an Authorised Payment Institution, employ FCA regulated brokers and be registered with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) as a Money Services Business.

When choosing a forex broker, I advise you to do thorough research and ensure that they have the relevant accreditations. A professional-looking website doesn’t always mean that the broker is regulated by the relevant authorities – so it’s best to get the registration number and do your own research. You don’t want to take any chances when it comes to your clients’ finances.

2. Privacy and security

The security of clients’ funds is paramount when choosing a forex provider. You want your clients to have peace of mind when transferring large sums of money to their suppliers or beneficiaries.

To ensure your clients’ money is as safe and secure as possible when transacting online, make sure to check website safety and overall security measures used by your broker of choice. Information about their online security measures should be available on their website. If not, you should be able to give them a call to enquire about the safety of their online money transfers. Reputable forex providers should use advanced security such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL) 128-bit encryption to keep money as safe as possible.

SSL 128-bit encryption is the most advanced data encryption technique available for securing information between clients and the website they use to transfer money. This technique provides absolute protection of your debit card against unauthorised use.

You can visually verify a site’s use of SSL in two places:

• The ‘s’ in https in the site’s web address
• The padlock on the left-hand side of the address bar

3. Transaction fees and rates – beware the fine print

Your clients shouldn’t be doing their international money transfers with their bank. Banks charge a premium for their transfers because they are not considered a key service. Most banks also only set their exchange rates once or twice a day, which means you might not be getting the best rate possible.

More importantly, don’t be fooled by websites that show interbank rates – the rate at which banks trade – as it is not the actual rate your clients will receive. You should always shop around to ensure that your clients will get a fair deal on transfer fees. Be wary of any and all hidden costs.

With a good, independent forex specialist, you can ensure that the rate your clients will receive is locked in at the time of their transfer. This way, they won’t get any nasty surprises when their cash arrives on the other side.

Keep in mind that a good forex provider will always be able to communicate exactly how much a transfer will cost before it’s made. Over a long period of time, a forex provider can either save or cost a business a substantial amount of money. Be sure that you’re getting your clients the best possible rates and transfer fees which, in turn, will allow them to increase their bottom line.

4. Customer service

Sometimes, the forex broker you deal with will be helpful and efficient during the account opening process, but will then offer terrible after-sales support. Rather choose a company that has a long-standing track record of great, personalised customer service. You’ll also want to make sure that the forex specialist offers direct access to its help desk, so that you don’t get stuck talking to a chat bot or receiving automated email replies when you have a business-critical query.

In most instances, the best way to gauge whether a company offers great customer service is by checking for testimonials and reviews. If a company has happy clients, there should be plenty of evidence that’s easy to track down.

Another way to test a broker’s helpfulness is to make use of any online chat boxes or email addresses you find on the website. Once you’ve done so, take note of how long it takes to get a useful reply.

At the end of the day, you want your clients’ money transfers to be done at the best possible rate and as quickly as possible. This will allow your clients to devote their time and energy to growing their business, in turn, putting your business in a better light.

Sable International Forex

Sable International Forex is an industry-leading remittance specialist with over 22 years of experience. We service more than 40,000 clients and pride ourselves on providing a bespoke, personalised offering for each of them. We are licensed and registered with all the relevant regulatory institutions and all client funds are held in segregated client money holding accounts. We offer a cost-effective money transfer service including free transfers, competitive exchange rates, faster transaction time and an easy-to-use secure online portal.

For a free foreign exchange consultation please call us at +44 (0) 20 7759 7554 (UK) or +27 (0) 21 657 2120 (SA) or email us on forex@sableinternational.com to get started.